Domestic violence perpetrators are going undetected. Here's why

A horror week of five suspected domestic violence deaths has exposed a key gap in the system: if the offender isn't known to police, who is meant to spot them?

Four people, including three women and a child, were killed in suspected domestic violence attacks in New South Wales in the space of 24 hours last weekend.

Police said none of the alleged offenders were known to them.

By Thursday, that number had climbed to five, after a one-year-old stabbed in the Blue Mountains died in hospital.

The deaths have raised questions about how authorities can act when alleged offenders aren't on the police's radar.

The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) results show more than 38,800 domestic violence-related assaults in the 12 months to June 26, up 3.4 per cent over the past decade.

Domestic Violence Death Review Team data shows that since 2000, 351 women, 230 men and 137 children have been killed in domestic violence-related homicides in NSW.

But police can't investigate what isn't reported. So how do you intervene when no-one knows there's a problem?

Why aren't police aware of DV offenders?

Despite improvements in recent years, under-reporting of domestic violence is still rife.

The 2021-23 Domestic Violence Death Review found half the men who killed a female partner had a history of using DV that had never been reported to police.

Macquarie University criminologist and former police detective Vince Hurley believes the number of offenders unknown to police is much higher.

"This notion that police always know who the offender is, is a bit of a misconception," he said.

"I would say probably 75 per cent, if not more, of domestic violence offenders are not known by police."

Dr Hurley said that information may be recorded by other agencies but not shared with police.

"It might be known to health officials, such as hospitals or GPs, but that information is not necessarily passed on to police because of privacy regulations.

"It's impossible to police what you don't know."

As part of Dr Hurley's research into domestic violence, he has reviewed hundreds of cases, with three key underlying issues identified: alcohol, drugs and mental health.

He said untreated mental health conditions could contribute to offending, and services were often out of reach.

"Most people who are wealthy might be able to afford to make a psychologist appointment and pay $300 an hour," he said.

"But for the bulk of the population, particularly in low socio-economic demographics, that is just not an option to them."

It is not known if mental health played a role in any of the deaths last weekend.

NSW Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson said it was important to distinguish between antisocial behaviour and people suffering from mental ill health.

"Failing to do so may inadvertently diminish the personal responsibility of those who perpetrate violence. It also risks unfairly stigmatising people living with genuine mental ill health," she said.

What's missing from the DV response?

Spotting the signs early and intervening is key to stopping domestic violence before it escalates, according to national peak body No to Violence.

But the body said that isn't where the funding is going.

General manager Chris Lacey said just 3.6 per cent of national domestic violence funding was spent on early intervention.

He said the system was heavily focused on helping victim survivors, but it should also invest in engaging men earlier.

The response to domestic and family violence is split into two areas — prevention and response.

Mr Lacey said there was a big gap in between, with very few early intervention programs on offer.

"That's the space where we need to be stepping into," he said.

"When someone at a hospital has a man present and they can identify that this man is at risk of committing or being violent, that there is a referral pathway directly from there for that man to get to tap in to services.

"At the moment, those services are very hard to find and very hard to get into.

"We need to be filling that massive gap."

What are the warning signs?

The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team, which analysed more than 20 years of domestic violence homicides in a report tabled in parliament in 2024, found two in three women killed were killed by an ex-partner or at the point of separating from their partner.

The same report found three-quarters of the men who killed a female partner had used three or more different types of domestic violence against her during the relationship, behaviour that is often controlling rather than physical.

Coercive control became a criminal offence in NSW in July 2024.

According to BOCSAR's latest coercive-control data, police have recorded 682 incidents since the offence was criminalised, and 42 charges have been laid.

The report found nearly half the victims (47 per cent) had a prior history of domestic violence recorded by police, and 31 per cent had previously experienced domestic violence involving the same alleged offender.

Mr Lacey said early warning signs of escalating behaviours can emerge during visits to a GP, hospital or other services.

"There are signs around drinking heavily, or going through a major life event, which can put more pressures on them," he said.

"That is generally a critical opportunity to identify the risk that exists and try to intervene before it escalates."

He said men who recognised those patterns in themselves could act on them.

"It's up to us as men to seek that help when we feel we need it, that is really important," he said.

Dr Hurley said families were often the first to notice something was wrong, but noticing was not the same as being able to fix it.

"It's OK for members of the family to look at the nuanced behaviour of members having a mental health episode, but that isn't easily equated into solving the problem," he said.

How do we break down those barriers?

Last weekend's deaths have renewed calls to look beyond the crisis response.

Getting various government departments talking to each other is a key part of the solution, according to Domestic Violence NSW CEO Delia Donovan.

"We need to make sure anyone responding to anyone impacted by domestic violence … really understands the nuance of domestic and family violence and it has to sit within every organisation's work plan," she said.

For Ms Donovan, this includes sporting codes, schools, corporate businesses and early childhood centres.

"We still don't have a society that really understands domestic and family violence, and we still have a society that victim-blames," she said.

"Until we can all look inwardly, government top-down, all the way through to community, we won't change this."

Ms Donovan said there had been 52 women killed this year and without proper resourcing, "we're not going to touch the sides of it".